Intl Brotherhood v. United Parcel Service
LABOR LAW – Railway Labor Law and Collective Bargaining Agreements; Jurisdiction

Western District of Kentucky at Louisville
06a0148p.06 – Apr. 26, 2006

SUTTON, Circuit Judge. Section 3 of the Railway Labor Act (RLA), Pub. L. No. 442, 48 Stat. 1185 (1934) (codified as amended at 45 U.S.C. § 151 et seq.), grants adjustment boards exclusive jurisdiction to resolve disputes over the “interpretation or application of [collective bargaining] agreements” affecting the railroad and airline industries. At issue in this case is a claim by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (the union) that it has a right to designate a representative on a safety committee established by its collective bargaining agreement with United Parcel Service (UPS). The district court dismissed the suit, concluding that it fell within the exclusive jurisdiction of the adjustment board. The union responds that the dispute lies outside of the board’s exclusive jurisdiction because it involves a dispute between labor and management about the “[d]esignation of representatives.” § 2, Third. Concluding that the union has construed the board’s exclusive jurisdiction in § 3 too narrowly and the term “representatives” in § 2, Third too broadly, we affirm.